Mail-carrier.



M. 0. GAIN.

MAIL CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 1, 1908 Patented Jui 6, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ywZflom a ggg m imam M. 0. GAIN.

MAIL GARRIER.

APPLIOATION rum) SEPT.1,1908.

Patented July-6, 1909.

2 SHEBTS 'EHEET 2.

Witness UNITED smg s ggnsr OFFICE.

MALGOME 0. GAIN, OF WELCOME, FLORIDA.

MAIL-CARRIER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Marconi: G. CAIN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at VVeleome,"in the county of llillshoro and State of Florida, haveinvented new an d useful l1nprovements in Maillarriers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mail carriers, and has for an object to provide a device of this character which may be effectively used for delivering mail to post ofliee stations along star or rural routes.

A. further object of thisinvention is to provide a mail carrier which may he propelled by electricity or other motive power and winch. will be adapted to contain mail to he delivered to postmaster-s, and to construct the device whereby it will be automatically stopped at each statior.

(lthcr ohjcc is and ailvantages willhe appar'nt as the nature of the invention is het- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 1, 1908. Serial No. 451,191

ler disclosed, and. it will of course he underlood that changes within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

in the drawings, forming a portion of this specification and in which like i'unnerals of rei'r-reme indicate similar parts in the several views,---Figure l. is a side view of the mail carrier suspended upon an elevated track, Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the brake levers, Fig. l is a diagrammatic view. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view 01' the trolley arm stop, Fig. (i is a longitudinal sectional view showing a slightly modified form of my invention.

Referring" to Figs. 1 to 5 ol the drawings, there is shown a mail carrier 5 which is preferahly in form. of an elongated. receptacle provided at one side with a hingedly mounted door 6, the same carrying a lock 7 by means of which access to the receptacle can only he gained by those possessiiig' keys, that is to say, p stnn1.sters' along rural or star routes. The receptacle has mounted upon the top thereof a hraelcet 8 having vertically disposed spaced pairs oi arms 9, which projest upwardly in a vertical plane an d between each pair is rotatably mounted a guard wheel 10 for engagement heneath the head. portion 1 1 of a T-traek. The track is supported by horizontally disposed arms 12 which are conheated, at their outer end, to diagonally disposed line posts 11'}. The just described posts more fully described.-

Patented Ju 6, 1909;

are connected by cap memners re b0 similar posts 15, but which are disposed to lie at an angle oppositeto the posts The posts are thus disposed. orformed in paiisof inverted ti-form. T he caps i i are provided with a plurality of brace rods 16, and these rods, and their lower ends, are connected to the T-traek as shown at 17. The arms 9 of the hraelret 8 at one side of said track support or have formed integral therewith. a cas ing 18, and'projceting from said casing at the top thereof is a plurality of arms 19 which have oilset portions 20 whereby said arms are disposed in spaced parallel relation to one side of said casing 18. The arms 19 and the casing 18 have mounted therehetween Wheels 21 lhoated' to run or travel upon the understood that the lowermost wheels 10 serve as guards to prevent casual displacement of the ear or the receptacle. The casing 18 has pivotally mounted thereon, as shown at 22, with a laterally extending portion 24 engaged by a helical spring 25 to normally hold the trolley wheel 26 at the outer end of the arm 23 engaged with the trolley wire 27. At one side of the casing 18 is pivotally mounted as indicated at a pair of arms 29, each arm being provided at its outer end with a pivotally mounted brake shoe 30 for engagement with the wheels 21, as will he hereinafter The arms, at their inner ends, are provided with armatures 31 a trolley arm 23, which arm is provided disposed above the cores of clectromagncts 32. Each arm is provided midway between its ends with a depending finger 33 disposed between the eonvolutions of helical springs 34. The eleetromagnets 32 may receivi current through a motor 35 carried by the casing 18, and which motor may be connected electrically to receive current from the trolley wire 27. In practice, a line isbuilt along rural or star routes and'mail may be do The mail may be suitada ted' to engage fingers 38 carried by the trol ey arms 23. It will thus be seen that after the trip arm 37, as shown in Figs. 1 and Qot'the drawings, engages the finger 33 the trolley wheel 26 will be thrown out of engagement with the trolley wire, thus (lechergiwing the magnets 32 to free their armature-s 31 and by n'ieans of the springs 34 the brake shoes will he engaged with the wheels 21 to eil'ectivcly stop the receptacle when it ar rives at its station.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings, a receptacle 39 is provided and has mounted therein upon its bottom a gasolene engine 40, the drive shal t t]. of which being adapted to ope ate a drive chain -13 engaged with a sprocket 43 carried by an axle -14. 'lhe axle 44 is carried by brackets 45 between which are loosely mounted axles 46 and 47 respectively. The respective axles are provided with wheels #18 to travel upon a track 49, and as shown, the wheel i8 is a drive wheel and its axle 46 is provided with a sprocket 50 receiving a chain 51 from a sprocket 52 upon. the axle 44. The receptacle in. this form of my invention is preferably provided with a door 53 and said receptacle is of a size to permit the occupancy ol an operator or mail sorter. A hooked arm 55 is carried by the casing '18 and is engaged with said arm 23, as shown.

I claim:-

1. A device ol' the class described comprisii'ig amail r-onl ainer, a track lor suspending the same, a trolley, a trolley wheel carried by the container [or engaging said trolley, a brake i'neclianisni, and trip means for simultaneously disengaging the trolley wheel from the trolley and applying said brake mechanism.

2. A device of the class described comprising a receptacle, a track upon which said receptacle is mounted a trolley, a trolley wheel for engaging said trolley, brake mechanism adapted to be held normally in an inoperative position, a motor, electrically connected means connecting the brake mechanism with the motor, electrical connections between the trolley wheel. and the motor, and trip means for disengaging the trolley whee from the trolley and for simultaneously throwing the brake mechanism into an oper ative position. v

3. The combination with a track and a support therefor, of a movable receptacle mounted upon the track, a trolley, a trolley wheel carried by the receptacle for engaging said trolley, an electrically controlled brakemechanism, and means for automatically applying said brake mechanism and disengaging the wheel from said trolley.

4. A device of the class described comprising a portable receptacle having support ing wheels, a track upon which said wheels travel, a trolley wire, a trolley wheel engaged with the wire, brake arms having brake shoes l'or engaging the wheels, electric means for normally holding the shoes disengaged from said wheels, and automatically operated means for diseng gaging the trolley Wheels from its wire and applying the brake shoes to said wheels. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MALCOME (3. CAIN.

W'itnesses:

James H. W'nrrunn,

G. B. WnLLs. 

